I felt like I could play with anybody, but some people felt differently.
— Christian McCaffrey
You can never satisfy other people, I learned. End of the day, it's extremely important that you know yourself better than anybody else, and if you can do that, it doesn't matter what anybody thinks about you, good or bad.
I think when you're running through a hole and you're hit in certain, different ways, you have to be able to move and change and make people miss.
Winning is the most important thing. You want to focus on the game and the team.
Yeah, I worked with a chef when I first got into the league. We did all my blood work and found out exactly what I'm sensitive to, what I'm deficient in, what my body needs. I had to cut out a lot of things - chicken, tuna, wheat, and soy.
I used to get so upset when my parents took away my phone and then I realized it's because they wanted the best for me and my brothers. I have a whole new appreciation for how they raised us.
It's a constant progression, and as long as you're constantly striving to be better, you're headed in the right direction.
I love Mac Miller. I'm a big Drake fan. I love Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bob Marley.
A win's a win.
Losing sucks.
For me, any time I'm on the football field, that's my comfort zone.
Some of my best childhood memories are of watching Terrell Davis with my dad. I used to hang out when I was, like, 4 and 5 years old and play Power Rangers in the locker room with him and Shannon Sharpe and Rod Smith. And I loved Terrell. He was awesome.
All the great players you ask always expect greatness.
Earned success is the key to a positive, happy life.
Obviously, teams start wearing down. But that's kind of when you thrive, when the other team starts to get tired.
If they need me to have 25 carries and eight catches a game, whatever they need me to do, I'm ready to go. Or if they need me to have eight carries and six catches but play the whole game and pass protect and help shifts on the D-ends, I'm ready to go.
Football is a very instinctual game, and it's very fast-paced.
A lot of times, I got confused for a kicker. And I've been compared to every white player in the NFL.
I've always tried to be a complete athlete and not limit myself to one position or one sport. It really helped mold my whole football game.
I used to have a potbelly pig named Terrance. He died of obesity.
The less I think about meals and everything else, the more I can focus on my sport, and the better I play.
I wake up around 8 A.M., which isn't too bad at all. I usually try to get to bed at 10 or 10:30. For a while I tried to see how my recovery was with just eight hours of sleep. And sometimes, that can be fine. But I like getting nine or more hours. I feel like I can wake up on my own if I've gotten nine hours.
I stopped worrying about how other people define me a little bit ago. I used to care a lot. Now I just don't care that much. Really, what I'm worried about is, am I being the best me I can be?
I think you can get better at everything. That's in football. That's in life.
My childhood neighbor played piano, and he told me we'd get all the girls if I learned how to play-and I was probably in eighth grade, going into high school, so I said, 'Sign me up.'
It's a team game. Not every game is going to be an all-star game.
I keep myself sane with stuff that's fun and not physical.
The football field, I'd definitely say that's my safe place.
Maybe at some level, even at an early age, without ever being aware of it, I was reacting to something. To people judging me based on how I looked instead of what I could do.
I play with a chip on my shoulder always, I feel like people don't always give me credit for my skills and talents and that's just the way it is. I also don't care too much, I don't feel like I'm crazy disrespected. I have a chip on my shoulder at all times.
You get fan mail and you see the reaction when you write someone back. It's kind of shocking. You can make someone's day and be a positive influence on the world when you're in a position like that.
One of the main reasons I went to Stanford was to run in a pro-style offense and show I can run between the tackles 25 to 30 times consistently.
My training is very specific to my sport, so it's a lot of fast, explosive movements. It's very pertinent to exactly what I do on the football field, which is fast burst in short spaces.
I can be a receiver.
It takes all 11 on the field doing their job correctly to make it all happen.
You've got to be able to adapt to your environment.
If I have the worst season in the world, the best season in the world, whatever. If I'm playing football, I'm happy, and no one can take that away from me.
Two hours before I start training, I like to eat a good breakfast.
The secret behind success isn't as much of a secret as people think. It's pretty simple. It's working as hard as you can to accomplish what you want.
At the end of the day, nobody has higher expectations for me than myself. I don't really try to prove anyone wrong anymore as much as I try to prove myself right.
I probably have the most versatile playlist in the world, from country to rap to classic rock to classical.
One of my big passions in the offseason, or just when I get time off in general, is playing music, and I've been fortunate to be around people who are a lot more talented than I am.
I mean, at the end of the day, I just want to win.
I train every single day.
There are certain things that people love to do, and they can't really explain it. That's me and football. The game gives me hope. It lets me be myself.
We all see color. We do. And anyone who says he doesn't see color is confused or isn't telling the truth. Except... and I know how this sounds, but I can't remember any point in my life where I saw other people and thought of their color.
I'd be happy to play for anybody.
You see how powerful some of the things you say and you do can be on people, especially young people.
Back in the day, a lot of running backs used to be 230 pounds, ground and pound the ball right up the middle. One thing I pride myself is being able to do what those guys do, as well.
I'm always trying to be the most complete back I can be.
